SANTIAGO, September 5, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) - In a massive rejection of the government's insistence on pushing through legislation to open the country to "legal abortion," Chileans from all walks of life, social status and religions amassed this past Saturday in downtown Santiago for a "Celebrate Life" rally.

Evangelical Christians along with Catholics and others denounced the legislative push by President Michele Bachelet and other elected officials which calls for legalizing abortion of unborn children conceived in rape, or who are determined to have a medical condition incompatible with life, or where there is danger to the mother's life.

Many of those present at the rally are particularly concerned with members of the Christian Democratic Party who are supporting the pro-abortion legislation. "It is a mockery that members of a party that calls itself 'Christian' dare to legalize the killing of the innocent," lamented Carmen Croxatto of Chile's Pro-Life Pro-Family Network.

Senator Carolina Goic, the president of the Christian Democratic Party and chair of the Senate Heath Committee, is reportedly ready to push the legislation to the next step. "She needs to work to defeat this legislation now, and not approve it moving forward to the full Senate," said Croxatto.

Pro-life leaders promise to make this the key determinant in the upcoming elections, declaring that any candidate or party who supports this legislation will not get their vote. "We do not want to follow the other countries of the world which have abandoned the protection of the weakest members of the human family, starting first with so-called "only limited abortion" and ending up with even more horrific consequences and all the damage that comes in the wake of abortion to society in general," according to Elizabeth Bunster of Chile es Vida."

Chile has had no legal abortion for decades and is an example for the world, not only for its exemplary legal protection of mother and child, but also for its very low maternal mortality rates.

Members of the UDI and RN parties are generally very supportive of the right to life, while the Socialists and Communists support abortion. The Christian Democrat Party, a part of the current government coalition with the Socialists and Communists, holds the key to stopping this legislation, or facilitating its passage. "The Christian Democrats need to understand that if they don't stop this legislation, they will be responsible for the resulting deaths of the innocent, the suffering for women and the destruction which follows in abortion's path" said Bunster.

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